


Come Here Often

by Mad_Lori



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Flirting, M/M, Patrick Brewer/David Rose/OMC (proposed), Pre-Threesome, Roleplay, Strangers In a Bar Games, no actual threesome content, threesome negotiations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:09:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29813070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mad_Lori/pseuds/Mad_Lori
Summary: David is having a drink at a hotel bar alone, when a stranger down the bar asks to join him...but he's not the only one who's noticed David.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 47
Kudos: 258





	Come Here Often

**Author's Note:**

> This is a blatant ripoff of the opening scene of the Meg Ryan movie "When a Man Loves a Woman." I make no apologies. 
> 
> A quick plot bunny fill; no beta.

Scott had been working up the courage to send a drink to The Guy Down the Bar for a good ten minutes now. He was just about there. One more sip and he’d be ready for launch.

He’d come into the hotel bar after an exhausting, dispiriting day of presentations that were subsequently picked apart and over-analyzed to the point of meaninglessness. It was like being pecked to death by ducks. At least he was at a reasonably posh hotel with a nice lounge area where they’d know how to mix a decent Manhattan.

After ordering, he had immediately noticed The Guy Down the Bar. He was sitting alone, drinking what looked like a Cosmo. He had strong eyebrows, upswept hair and an aloof manner; Scott marveled that a guy that hot would be drinking alone in a hotel bar.

The bartender sauntered up. “Another?” he said, motioning to Scott’s near-empty glass. Scott glanced down at The Guy before nodding to the bartender.

The man gave him a conspiratorial smile. “He’s drinking Cosmos.”

Scott inhaled. “Next one’s on me, then.”

He watched, sipping his new Manhattan, as the bartender slid a fresh Cosmo before The Guy, glancing down at Scott. The Guy hesitated, then took the drink. He looked down at Scott and raised the glass at him, his face carefully neutral.

That seemed to be all the encouragement he was going to get. He got up with his drink and walked down to the empty seat next to The Guy. “Mind if I join you?” he asked.

The Guy looked up at him. “Be my guest.”

He sat. The Guy was even better looking up close. He smelled like sandalwood and leather. Scott was sitting on his right, and his eye was drawn to The Guy’s right hand, adorned with four gold rings that flashed and sparkled and drew attention to his long fingers. “I’m Scott,” he said.

“David. Thanks for the drink.”

“You’re welcome. You don’t seem the type to drink alone in a hotel bar.”

“What type is that?”

Scott cocked his head. “I wouldn’t think a guy like you would be alone for long.”

“Well, you just fulfilled your own prophecy by joining me, didn’t you?” He was looking down at his drink, but a smirk curled just at the edge of his lips. The shadow of a dimple teased his cheek and Scott’s stomach fluttered a bit.

“I guess I did.”

“You were drinking alone in a hotel bar, too.” David gave him an appraising glance. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d be alone long, either.”

Scott flushed at the slantwise compliment. “I just got here.”

“You got here fifteen minutes ago.”

“Oh, you noticed me, huh?”

“I’m observant that way.” David lifted the Cosmo to his lips, looking straight ahead. He sipped it, that dimple appearing in his cheek again.

A movement caught Scott’s eye; he looked past David’s shoulder to one of the banquette tables near the wall. A man was sitting in one of them watching David while trying to act like he wasn’t. He was wearing a blazer and a button-up and had a beer in front of him. His eyes would flick to David and then away again, then around the room, and then back. It wasn’t subtle.

David leaned ever so slightly closer. “Is that guy still watching me?” he said, sounding amused.

“Who, Dudley Do-right in the booth?”

David snorted a quick laugh. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Yep, he sure is.”

“He’s been watching since I came in. I thought he might be working up to do what you did, but you beat him to it, didn’t you?” He met Scott’s eyes for the first time.

“Lucky me.” Scott looked over at Dudley again. “He’s cute.”

“Sure, if that’s your type.”

“Wholesome?”

“Hmm, would we call him wholesome?”

“I’m guessing that’s not your type.”

“What makes you think so?”

“You don’t look wholesome to me,” Scott said, allowing a slight edge of come-on to enter his voice for the first time. “You look dangerous.”

David heard it, loud and clear. “Maybe he just _looks_ wholesome, and maybe I just _look_ dangerous.”

“Appearances can be deceiving.”

David met his eyes again, a full smile on his face now. “Yes, they can.”

Over at the booth, Dudley Do-Right stood up with his beer, squared his shoulders, and walked over to the bar, turning and leaning his back against it on David’s other side. He ignored Scott; in fact, he didn’t even look at David, casting his gaze out at the bar like it was the most casual thing in the world. “Is this guy bothering you?” he said, his tone light.

Scott was reluctantly impressed. He wouldn’t have thought this guy would open with that.

David shot Scott an amused glance. Scott shrugged, enjoying this. “Maybe _you’re_ bothering me,” David said, not looking up at Dudley.

“Sorry, man,” Scott said, addressing Dudley over David’s head. “I beat you to it.”

Dudley met his eyes. David was right. This guy wasn’t wholesome. “I don’t believe this man is a prize to be claimed,” he said. “You don’t get _dibs_.”

David chuckled, leaning a bit toward Scott. “He has a point, there,” he said, low and conspiratorial.

“Do I at least get...uh, brownie points? For initiative?”

“You might get some for sending me the correct drink,” David said, his Cosmo half gone by now. “ _He_ didn’t send me a drink,” he said, leaning in, flirtation curling the words.

“Took his own sweet time too, didn’t he?” Scott said. Some of the bar patrons nearby were starting to surreptitiously watch this little exchange.

“I mean, how enticing can I be if it took him half an hour to come over here?” David said. He looked up at Dudley for the first time. “Were you just waiting to make sure no one better came in?”

Dudley met David's eyes for the first time. “You know that’s impossible. There’s no one better in the world.”

Scott blinked. The other bar patrons who’d been pretending not to eavesdrop all went still. That was a hell of a line to drop on a bar pick-up.

David sat back a little and was staring up at Dudley, speechless.

“Damn,” Scott muttered, hoping to recapture that Us-vs-Dudley badinage he and David had had going there for a minute. “Can you believe this guy? He thinks…”

Dudley turned and put his beer down, then he slowly and deliberately slid over between David and the bar. Scott’s jaw dropped as he swung his leg across David’s thighs and settled right down on his lap. He slid his hands up David’s chest, an insufferable smirk on his face. Scott was just starting to contemplate the odds that he’d have to throw hands with a random guy in a bar for being way too forward with a guy Scott was semi-successfully chatting up when Dudley leaned in and kissed David...and David kissed back. Hard, and deep, his hands resting on this total stranger’s hips.

Nobody was even trying to pretend they weren’t watching this now. Scott was frozen in place. What the hell had just happened?

Dudley drew back, looking very pleased with himself. David sighed, his hands resting on Dudley’s thighs. They just gazed at each other for a moment. “Did you find my sketchbook?” David said, his tone casual.

“Yeah. It was half under the passenger seat.”

“Oh, good. I had all my notes for the attic in there.”

“That reminds me, can you text Ronnie about new replacement windows? I want to check on the energy efficiency.”

“You can text her too, you know. She doesn’t bite.”

“Wanna bet?”

Everyone watching this spectacle was chuckling and going back to their own conversations. Scott was still watching them, gobsmacked. They kissed again, lightly. David looked over at Scott. “Sorry,” he said, looking a little blushy and shamefaced.

“I guess you two know each other,” Scott grumbled.

Dudley stuck out his hand, looking a little too smug. “Hi, I’m Patrick.”

“My husband,” David added.

Scott sighed and shook it. “I’m Scott. Sorry I, uh...tried to pick him up.”

“No worries,” Patrick said, twining his fingers with David’s. “You didn’t know. And he is very...what word did you use? Enticing?”

“I’ll say,” Scott said, hoping he didn’t look too disappointed.

David looked back up at Patrick. “Honey, not that I don’t love the visual, but your thighs are crowding me a bit, here.” Patrick clambered off him and took the seat on his other side.

Scott watched them, marveling at the shift in body language. Having outed themselves, they fit with each other like puzzle pieces to the point that he couldn’t believe they’d pulled off looking like strangers. “You guys do this a lot?”

David shrugged. “Once in a while. The whole ‘pretend to be strangers and pick each other up’ thing can be fun, when we’re in a strange place.” He patted Scott’s arm. “A third party doesn’t usually get involved, though. Sorry about that.”

“Hey, random flirting in a bar has its risks. Usually it’s just getting shot down or having a regrettable hook-up, but now I guess I can add ‘trying to pick up a guy who’s in the middle of a strangers-at-the-bar roleplay with his husband’ to that list.”

“He did make me wait a really long time,” David said, giving Patrick a look.

“I was enjoying the view.”

“So was I,” Scott said, relaxing a little at their vibe.

David rested his hand on Patrick’s leg. “He enjoys seeing other men...uh, being into me,” he said. “And I enjoy him seeing it.”

“I get that.”

Patrick glanced at Scott’s empty glass. “Let us buy you another. To make up for the one you bought him.” He signaled the bartender.

“Thanks.” Scott took a deep breath and let it out, adjusting his expectations back to “just a drink at a bar” level. “So, where are you guys from?”

They ended up having a good conversation. Scott heard about the store they owned, he told them about his law practice. They were all in town for long weekend breaks, and talked about their favorite tourist spots. Scott found out that David had been somewhat famous at one point in his life, and that Patrick had married the first man he ever kissed.

They’d been married for three years. Scott’s longest relationship had been barely two, and he had never come close to the ease and familiarity they seemed to effortlessly share.

That silent communication meant that they simultaneously shifted to “we have to get going” body language, Patrick signaling the bartender to close out their tab.

“It was really nice to meet you guys,” Scott said, and meant it.

“Even if you didn’t get laid?” David joked.

“Well, the night is young.”

They looked at each other for a brief moment, then David turned back. “You know, we do this pretend-we’re-strangers thing from time to time, but that’s not our only...extracurricular activity.”

“No?”

“Sometimes we enjoy the company of a third party. If we meet anyone we both like, and who likes us.”

“That sounds like a tall order.”

Patrick stood up and took David’s hand as he got off his barstool. “It was nice to meet you, Scott,” David said, his voice low and soft. It curled around the base of Scott’s spine and tugged at his belly with want. David smiled at him and walked towards the exit.

Patrick signed the bar tab. “We’re in room 826,” he said, quiet but confident. “Take your time, but no later than eleven.” He slid a card over to him. “If not tonight, we’ll be in town until Monday morning. That’s my number.” He winked, and was gone. Scott watched in the mirror over the bar as he caught up to David, resting his hand on the small of his back.

Scott picked up the card and tapped the edge with his finger. He slid it into his wallet and took another sip of his Manhattan. The bartender came by to pick up David’s empty glass. “Dude,” he murmured, “if you don’t, you’re nuts.”

He looked up. “I think I’ll just finish this drink.”

The bartender shrugged and moved off to serve other customers. Scott sat for a few minutes and considered his options. He hadn’t come in here with many expectations. He’d soon graduated to “hey, I’m doing pretty well with this really attractive man, I might have a shot here” and then rocketed forward to “hey, I’ve just been invited to a threesome.” It was a pretty significant upgrade...especially considering the two men in question here tonight.

He knocked back the last sips of his drink, then raised his hand to the bartender. “I’ll cash out, please.”

He had somewhere to be, before eleven.


End file.
